Chapter Eleven

Celius woke up earlier then he would normally. He felt a lot more refreshed and for some reason very comfortable. He got up from his bed slowly, trying not to wake up his sisters. He went to the water basin and began to wash his face.

After getting cleaned, he put on a white tunic and brown trousers. Entering the kitchen, he drank a cup of water and ate some of the leftovers from the night before.

'It feels like I had a weird dream, but I can't seem to remember it.' As he ate silently, he couldn't help but recall his blurry dream. Nothing was clear to him, but he did remember seeing lots of blue and white. What those colors represented, however, was a mystery. 'Whatever, I still have an hour before I should wake the three up. I should get some breakfast for them and Grandpa ready.' He didn't have a precise way to tell time but was able to gouge out an approximation based on the color of the sky and the position of the sun.

He began to get some things ready, of course only fruits for now. If he made things that required a bit of cooking like Jacky Mangi too early, then the taste would not be so great. He cut a bunch of green peaches and apples into small pieces. He placed them into four separate plates, this included some for his grandpa.

He started a small fire outside of his house and began to brew some tea for his grandpa. Although it wasn't as amazing as what people could get in towns, it wasn't terrible either. It would take him about fifteen to twenty minutes to get the tea ready, so he began to get some other things ready.

Ten minutes later, he decided to wake up his grandpa. Although it was a little early for his siblings, it was a good time for his grandpa to wake up.

Going into the room, he found his grandpa and Elrith snuggling tightly together. He couldn't help but smile at the sight. He tiptoed to his grandpa's side and began to tap his shoulder. "Grandpa, get up." He did a few more times and his grandpa slowly opened his eyes. He turned his body over and looked at Celius, however his face suddenly looked surprised.

"Celius, your eyes." His voice was still a little raspy as he just woke up, but Celius was able to understand it clearly. The latter was a little shocked. He covered his eyes with his hands and tried to change them back. He looked back at his grandpa who shook his head.

"They're still golden. Wait, something seems different." His grandpa quickly got out of bed and dragged Celius out of the room. Washing his face quickly in the water basin, grandpa Amlenor inspected Celius' eyes. He nodded his head with a serious expression. "Your eyes are a little different Celius. Although they're mostly golden, I see a white ring-type inside of the gold. Very weird."

Celius became shocked. "They changed slightly? Is that a bad thing?" He couldn't help but ask.

"It is not a bad thing. Well, from what I know, golden eyes tend to change when one becomes stronger, of course, they remain golden, just have minor changes to them. Some people supposedly had weird designs begin to appear within their eyes, which is what I'm assuming is going on with you." His grandpa continued to speak, but his expression showed seriousness, not much joy.

"Isn't that a good thing then? What's wrong then?" Celius was a little confused.

"Remember how you tried to hide your eyes in the room, and it didn't work? Well, from what I know, once the eyes begin to develop enough, they will be impossible to hide, unless very special powers are used. Say your eyes had powers related to illusions, then you could create an illusion on your eyes which could hide them from others, of course, the downside is that you must be stronger than the person you are trying to hide it from. There are more ways, but those are impossible for you." His face was somewhat sullen.

"So that means, my eyes are for the world to see now?" Celius couldn't have such a situation. Not only was it dangerous for him, but also dangerous for his family.

"From what I know, that seems to be the case. Jeez, what happened while I was asleep for such a major change to occur?" Celius shrugged his shoulders in confusion and began to contemplate silently.

'This is not good. I was just in a good mood, but now everything is a mess. If word gets out that I have Unique eyes, then the upper echelon may not be able to sit still.' He didn't know what to do. His father's trick was now useless to him. He was previously using a cheap method of hiding his eyes from most people's eyes. Even his grandpa and the higher-ups couldn't tell if there was anything wrong, but this trick wasn't working anymore. It was as if his eyes were forcefully showing off their splendor.

"What should I do then, grandpa?" His grandpa frowned as he tried to think of a solution.

"For now, try not to come in front of any of the higher-ups. I will use my essence to try to change your eyes back to normal, but this will only keep those weaker than me from knowing the truth. Those old elders will be able to see through this trick in an instant." Celius nodded his head as he closed his eyes. His grandpa then began to circulate his essence in Celius' eyes, turning them into a normal color.

"I will keep away for as long as I can, but it will be difficult to do that during the coming of age ceremony. I have no choice but to attend it and I know those old fogeys will be present as well. We have to think of something before then." Amlenor nodded his head as he felt his head become filled with random thoughts.

"Ah, we shall see then. Celius, why don't you go and get to the field. I will get the twins to their classes." Celius nodded his head and walked out of the door. He carried a piece of bark which was wrapped with a cloth. It contained some food he would eat during his work.

He didn't mind leaving his grandpa to handle the morning affairs as his grandpa had done it many times, plus he had full trust in his grandpa.

Celius walked for a while before reaching his destination. His field was in view. He dropped his tools and began to work. With all the boulders and trees cleared, all that was left was to get rid of extra material on the ground and begin planting. It was his third day on the field, so it was important for him to start planting.

Taking his shirt off, he began to clear weeds and other items. He picked up branches, small rocks, and other debris. After getting the field ready, he took a hoe and began to dig into the ground. His method of growing was using small hills. This would allow him to access the plants' roots with ease, plus the herbs he was growing were essence herbs, so the only thing that mattered for them was that they were growing in rocks.

He continued to dig and made many craters which were organized in a line. He then used the dirt he dug to make small hills. After creating many hills, he placed the mined boulders on the peak. He also placed the mined boulders into the center of the craters. The plan was to have the rocks in the middle so that the plant would have roots taking as much room as possible underground.

Creating all of the hills, digging craters, and then placing the rocks in the middle of each, took him about three hours to complete. It was a very tedious and difficult job. Plus, the hills kept breaking apart, so he had to use water to keep them together in some areas.

'This is extremely annoying. Luckily I finished the initial set up, if this doesn't work then I'm really screwed.' He wasn't a professional herb grower, rather he knew nothing about growing them. He was following the book which had basic information on the herbs, but it didn't give him the best way to grow them. He had to figure that part out himself. He came up with his weird idea and couldn't think of anything else. Of course, he did think about just placing everything on the ground level, but because of how heavy the flower was, and how difficult it was to take the roots out, he knew that doing it in such a way would be stupid for him with his current strength.

Growing the flower inside the craters was already a dumb idea since they would be even harder to remove, but he had to do it there to conserve space and grow as much as possible. He may not be able to remove the flowers in the craters, but that didn't mean he couldn't use them. The flowers would still release a faint essence, which was very good for his cultivation.

After resting and eating for about thirty minutes, Celius began to plant the White Boulder Flower seeds into the rocks. The plantation was easy and even getting them nutrients and water was easy. The hardest parted started after the plantation. Not only did he have to prevent weeds from growing and taking away all of the nutrients, but he also had to prevent animals from eating the flower.

Protecting the flower and making sure it grew to its optimal state was his next task. 'Maybe I should build a barricade of some sort around the field?' Once this thought appeared, it didn't go away. He decided to build a simple wooden fence around his field. 'I can chop trees to get the wood, but I need to buy rope in order to hold it all together. This may be costly.' Currently, he had about eight silver. It was quite a lot, at least in Celius' eyes. With the amount in hand, he would be able to get plenty of rope, but it would cost him two to three silver. This would give him an amount a little more than what he needed.

Putting his tunic back on, he quickly towards the village market. He looked for a place which would sell him the rope. After finding the proper stall, he walked towards it. Taking care of the stall was someone he knew, Rells' father.

Although he and Rells were good friends, the problem was with the latter's family, especially his father. Rells' father was a person who didn't like Celius at all. In his mind, Celius was a spawn of the devil, a kid who only brought bad luck. Which, although wasn't completely true, it also wasn't completely wrong.

In the past, Celius would hang around Rells quite a bit, but whenever they did, something would either happen to Rells' family or Rells himself. Although it wasn't anything major, it did impact the family a little. Sometimes Rells would come home with a torn tendon, making him unable to walk for months, sometimes more. There were also times where Rells' father didn't get a single coin from his stall when Celius was around. Although these could be considered coincidences, Rells' family thought otherwise.

Celius walked towards the stall after a brief moment of hesitation. He was once beaten very badly by Rells' father and told never to hang around Rells again. This was a few months after his parents' death.

Once he reached the stall, he cleared his throat. Rells' dad opened his shut eyes and looked at Celius. His face showed confusion, so he rubbed his eyes once before narrowing to get a better look. His face showed shock at first but then darkened.

"Celius? What do you want?" His voice was deep and harsh. He kept glaring at Celius, not giving a moment to be calm.

"S-sir, I w-was wondering if you had any r-ropes to sell?" His voice was quivering a little and he kept stuttering. Although he had grown up a little and wasn't a coward, but he had some fear towards people who humiliated him and thrashed him in the past for just being there, especially towards Rells' father, Faelor Illeaf. When he was beaten up by this man, his face was swollen for days, and he was in bed for a month. The man didn't just use his fists and legs, he also used a wooden bat, treating him like an animal. It got to the point where even Rells' mother stepped in to stop Faelor. The mother was no good person, but at least she didn't treat him like an animal.

Rells also stopped talking to his father for a few months when the incident happened. It was a chaotic time. His grandpa stepped in to teach Faelor a lesson, but the other elders came in the way, so nothing was done to Faelor back then.

"Sir? You seem to have forgotten about your manners, huh Celius?" Faelor looked at him with threatening eyes.

Celius took a deep gulp and calmed his state of mind. He was still a little shaky, but he wasn't completely frightened. Plus, there were many people around, so Faelor couldn't do too much.

"Sir Faelor, I have no clue what you m-mean. I still have my m-manners. C-can you answer my question? Would you happen to have any r-rope?" He spoke slowly, but he stuttered a little. His whole back was sweat filled after finishing.

Faelor raised an eyebrow and glared at Celius, but he didn't stray on the topic. He didn't want to talk to Celius too much. "No rope, so get lost."

Celius clenched his fists. He could clearly see the rope. He took a deep breath before turning around and walking away. 'Since he isn't selling to me, I am not going to waste my time with him. There are probably others who can sell it to me.' With this in mind, he quickened his steps to find another place to buy rope.

Seeing Celius walk away with such decisiveness, Faelor couldn't help but feel surprised. He was ready to shoo Celius off by force but seeing him walk away without saying anything else made him feel a little stunned.

'Whatever, not my problem. Having a walking bastard like him around my stall only makes me feel annoyed. It's a good thing he left without saying anything else.' After making sure no one else was coming to his stall, Faelor leaned back in his chair and shut his eyes. His face was calm, without any care for the world.

Celius continued to look around and finally found another shop that sold rope. The one selling was another person that he knew, of course, only by face and not by name. They did not interact much before, but since Celius was a common enemy, the old man raised the price for the rope by five copper above the market price. Celius only sighed heavily and gave the man around four silver. It was much higher than he wanted, but he couldn't do anything about it. No one liked him, plus even his backing, his grandpa, was not able to do anything about such situations.

He put the long bundles of rope around his neck and his two arms. It weighed a lot, but he had no choice but to carry them. His grandpa was at home so he couldn't call him for help, plus there was no one who would actually help if he asked. He gritted his teeth and began to walk away from the stall, step by step.

Luckily his body wasn't weak, but it wasn't strong enough for him to walk at greater speeds with a large amount of rope.

He steps were slow and sweat dripped down his face like a waterfall. Some people looked at him with pity and wanted to come forward to help him, but either others stopped them, or they recalled past events, so they stopped themselves.

Some people were enjoying his current state. Most of these were people who were under the banner of the current clan leader. To them, the more Celius and his family suffered the better it was for them.

Celius walked slowly and kept looking straight. He didn't expect anyone's help and wasn't going to ask anyone anyways. It would only make him look like a bigger fool. His breathing slow, but heavy. His eyelids were droopy, but his eyes stayed sharp.

He walked for a while and was approaching the area where Faelor's stall was.

"That kid is kind of pitiful. Such a heavy load, yet no one helps. Sigh."

"What are you sighing for? Why don't you go and help him then?"

"Are you kidding? If I go and help him, the clan leader will look at me badly, and who knows when my family will be the next to disappear? He's the son of a piece of shit, why should I risk my life for him?"

"Where did all that pity go, huh? All talk and no action."

"Pfft, why don't you go and help him then?"

"Do you think I care about what happens to that kid? He could die right there for all I care."

Harsh words like these continued to appear in the crowd. Faelor who had his eyes closed heard them and became a little curious. He slowly opened and saw the blurry figure of a slowly walking man. He closed his eyes and then reopened them to clear them up a little. Getting up from his seat, he focused his eyes to see who everyone was talking about.

When he saw the sight, he couldn't help but take in a deep breath. 'What the hell is that kid doing carrying so much rope? I haven't seen his face in over a year and now he tries to act up in front of my stall? Is he trying to drive my customers away?' Faelor felt angry for no reason when he saw Celius. All he wanted to do was go forward and kick him down, then give him another beating. Of course, he stopped himself since that would just make others think he was a cold-hearted bastard.

He only glared at the slow walking Celius, hoping he would move quicker and get away from where his stall was.

Celius breathed heavily as he continued to carry the weight. Since he was only looking forward and nowhere else, he didn't know that everyone was watching him. Even if he knew that a crowd gathered because of him, he wouldn't care too much, since all they would do is talk.

Sweat rained down his face and began to go into his eyes. He walked for another five minutes before sitting down on the side of the path to take a small break. The ropes were just too heavy. His chest began to heave up and down rapidly as he took quick breaths. His long black hair which was usually tied up was now completely opened. It was all over the place. 'I should really cut my hair. It's too long and is making it harder to work.' He thought this silently. Although long black hair ran in his family with even his father, uncle, grandpa having them, Celius felt that he needed to remove it. It was becoming more of a liability for him, coming in the way of his work.

After waiting for another minute or so, Celius picked up the ropes and began to walk again.

Faelor, who was watching from afar, became a little angry when he saw how slow he was walking and decided to walk towards Celius.

"Celius." Hearing his name being called out, Celius turned his head slowly and saw Faelor walk towards him. Although he felt a little frightened on the inside, right now he was too tired to care about the man.

"Yes?" He asked in a casual tone. His breathing was heavy, so he started to breathe loudly when he spoke.

Seeing Celius act so nonchalant in front of made Faelor somewhat upset. "Is that the tone you use with your uncle?" He spoke in a dignified manner, but Celius only felt it to be ridiculous, so he didn't answer and just stared blankly at Faelor. Seeing that Celius was not saying anything, Faelor felt himself almost erupt, but he controlled himself. "Celius, tell me, why are you slaving in front of my stall? There are other places to do it, so why did you specifically choose this place?" His tone was harsh and cold, not caring about Celius' appearance at all.

Celius was somewhat taken aback. Although he knew that he was hated by Faelor, he didn't think that Faelor would be such a petty man to come and annoy him now of all times. Even the people who were loyal to the clan leader didn't come forward to bug him. So why did Faelor?

"Sir, I don't understand what you mean. This is the only path I can take to get to where I want to, so why would I take another route?" He asked this with a little bit of anger in his tone. Usually, he would be scared and stutter a little, but this time he was pissed. He wasn't bothering Faelor, so why was the man bothering him?

"Celius watch the way you speak to me; I am your uncle. Remember that." Faelor couldn't help but raise his voice a little.

"Faelor, what the hell are you doing?!" Suddenly a loud voice came from behind Faelor. Both Celius and Faelor turned around to see who the voice belonged to. Fortunately, it was Uncle Lorron who came to save the day. Beside him was Ennie, who had a look of anger on her face.

"Lorron?" Faelor looked at Lorron in confusion. "Were you the one who called out to me just now?"

"It was me, and I will ask again, what the hell are you doing?" Uncle Lorron also had a look of anger on his face.

"What do you mean?" Faelor asked in a deeper tone. He was weaker than Lorron in strength since the latter was a miner and he was just a stall owner, but that didn't mean that he was scared of Lorron.

"You know what I mean. Why are you bugging Celius when he is minding his own business? If you don't want to help him carry the ropes then whatever, but you instead want to annoy and taunt him? Do you have no shame?" Lorron was seething at this point. Although he and Celius didn't get to the point of being the closest of families, they weren't that far off. Now that he was seeing Celius being treated so badly for no apparent reason, he felt his chest filled with flames of anger.

Faelor was a little shocked. He didn't expect someone to come up and actually berate him, and to do so with so much anger. He was speechless for a moment but quickly pulled himself together. His frown grew deep as he spoke in a low voice. "Lorron, are you really standing up for this bastard right now? Do you not understand what his dad and uncle--"

"You can stop right there Faelor. Keep in mind, whatever happened in the past was between his father and uncle, and the elders in the clan. He was in no way involved, so you can go find someone else to spout that bullshit to." Celius watched all of this happen and couldn't help but widen his eyes. He was just as shocked as Faelor. Although he was close to uncle Lorron and his family now, he still did not expect them to show such a strong stance for him publicly. A warm feeling filled his heart, he couldn't help but feel his vision become misty. Only his grandpa had ever stood up for him, and that was only when his grandpa was around. Usually, he was all alone when he was facing such situations, but today… he wasn't.

"Lorron, are you sure you're in the right mind? Does this mean you are siding with the cowardly traitors?" Faelor continued to bring in the past as that was the only fault Celius' family had, and it was a major one, at least in the eyes of the clan.

"Think whatever you want but know this. If I see you trying to mess around with Celius for no reason again, then know that you and I will have problems." His tone was resolute, and in Celius' eyes, Uncle Lorron was like a hero at that moment. He reminded him of his dead Uncle Brianus who would always stand up for him.

Faelor snorted before glaring at Lorron, Ennie, and then Celius. He turned around and walked back to his stall.

Uncle Lorron also snorted before walking towards Celius with a smile. "I'm sorry for being late, Celius."

Shaking his head, Celius smiled brightly. "No no, thank you for the help uncle. If you weren't here, I don't know what he would have done." The smile on Celius' face was so bright that Uncle Lorron was a little taken back. He had never seen him smile like this.

"As long as you're alright, then all is good. Here, let me help you with these." Uncle Lorron, not caring about the eyes that were looking at him from all over, quickly grabbed the two bundles of rope that were on Celius' arms. The second he picked them up, he felt his arms fall to the ground. His eyes widened and so did his mouth. "T-this, this is so heavy. How were carrying three at a time?" He was shocked. Although the weight wasn't something he couldn't handle, that was because he was already very strong. For someone like Celius, the weight would be considered way too much.

A smile formed on Celius' face. "It's nothing. It may be a little heavy, but I can handle it, haha." He laughed as he then looked at Ennie. "Hey cousin Ennie, what are you doing here? Thanks for your help by the way."

Ennie smiled back awkwardly. "I didn't even do anything; it was all dad." She was embarrassed for taking some of the credit even though she didn't do anything.

Celius shook his head in disagreement. "Your presence was more than enough. You don't even know the risk you are currently taking, so thank you for that." He shot her a sweet smile, which made her giggle, but also a little confused.

"Forget all of that. Celius, I presume you're taking these to the field?" Uncle Lorron asked with a smile.

"Yea, I have to make a fence around my field so that the number of animals coming in will lessen. Although none have come yet, once the flowers start growing, then animals are bound to come in large groups." He calmly explained as uncle Lorron nodded his head.

"Animals will become a big problem, especially the essence beasts." Celius also sighed. He knew of essence beasts. Unlike normal animals, an essence beast was able to cultivate, much like humans. Of course, their method of cultivating was different from humans, but in the end, both could use essence.

"Celius, do you think a fence will stop the essence beasts? They could probably break it down." Ennie asked with concern on her face.

"They probably could, but the fence isn't meant for them, it's mostly for the normal animals. As for the essence beasts, I'm going to handle them myself when the time comes. Maybe the market has something that will help keep them away? I don't know, I'll see when the time comes." His idea was very rough and somewhat dangerous, but Uncle Lorron didn't comment any further. It was impossible to help him in such a situation. He had done fielding in the past and had encountered many essence beasts. There was no good way to prevent them from attacking the fields, at least in his mind.

They began to walk in the direction of his field. Celius carried one bundle, while Uncle Lorron carried two. Ennie walked without anything to carry.

All three spoke on the way about different things. Ennie was, of course, the one who spoke the most, followed by Celius, and then Uncle Lorron. Sometimes they would talk about daily tasks, maybe about the upcoming festival, and also even about cultivation. Whenever cultivation was brought up, Ennie would glance at Celius from the corner of her eyes, feeling a little saddened.

"Celius, I know you aren't going to be doing the cultivation classes anymore, but how will you manage your cultivation then? It's something important, you know." Uncle Lorron glared at her, but Ennie couldn't help but ask. Although the former knew that Celius was hiding his real cultivation, he still didn't think that Celius would be able to cultivate far if he didn't attend the classes. Plus, Uncle Lorron didn't think that Celius had any time to cultivate, so he was also worried about the issue. He glanced at Celius, waiting for an answer.

Seeing that the two were curious, Celius shook his head bitterly. "I know it's important, and I don't plan on falling behind. I already know most of the basics of cultivation, plus Ennie, I don't think I'm much weaker than you with my current strength and realm."

Uncle Lorron and Ennie both felt speechless by this claim. "Celius, I know that you're sitting at Physique Purge - Hell, but that is still a little weaker than Ennie." The former spoke up, while Ennie found his words shocking.

"Physique Purge - Hell?! Weren't you supposed to be at Physique Purge - Earth? Maybe even Sky? When did you break through?" She was shocked, as many would be.

"Uncle Lorron, I kind of broke through to Physique Purge - Heaven a while ago. Plus, my liver has already been purged, along with some minor organs." This time, Uncle Lorron almost fell to the ground. He couldn't believe his ears.

"W-when did this happen? How?" He couldn't even think straight. One had to know that such a speed without any external support was frightening. Ennie was three years older, yet she was still at Physique Purge - Heaven. Although she did purge her kidneys, it still wasn't too far when compared to Celius.

He was a little embarrassed, but Celius still explained. "Well, it happened just before you guys came to my house for dinner. As for how, well maybe it was because of my three years of work or something." He didn't tell them the truth because it was still too soon. Plus, some things were better to keep a little quieter since the news of him getting enlightened and even being in the process of creating an orb would just be too shocking.

"Huh." Uncle Lorron sighed a little. "Like father, like son. Both of you are indeed crazy, and this includes your mother, grandfather, and uncle." Uncle Lorron was of similar age to Celius' father, but the latter had much higher talent in cultivation and was able to get into the higher ranks of the clan with ease, while he continued to live a normal, yet not so exciting life.

Hearing his words made Celius smile. He loved when his parents were complimented for their high talent in cultivation, it made him both happy and prideful. 'Yup, they're my parents. The most talented in this clan.'

"C-Celius, how did all of this happen? Why were you hiding such talent? If everyone knew, you probably would have gotten much better treatment." Ennie was still in a state of shock and confusion. She felt that him hiding such talent was stupid, yet also found it hard to believe he had such talent.

Both Celius and Uncle Lorron shook their heads. "Ennie, remember this. Celius told us his current realm only because he trusts us, so don���t go and tell the world. Keep it a secret, don't let anyone know about it." Uncle Lorron spoke in a strict tone as he seriously looked at his daughter.

"But why? Wouldn't he be better off if everyone knew?" Ennie was still confused.

"I wish that was the case," Celius spoke up bitterly this time. "Let me put it this way; If the clan found out that I have such talent, just my siblings being alive would be a great thing. As for me, well I probably wouldn't be alive anymore." He spoke calmly about this, so calm that uncle Lorron was a little shocked and felt a chill run down his back.

"W-what do you mean? Why would you die because of your talent? Sure, some people don't treat you so well, but they wouldn't go as far as to kill you." Celius shook his head. He didn't bother to explain any further.

"Ennie, you're still young so I won't tell you about these matters yet. Just know that Celius would not be in a good situation if word gets out that his talent is so shocking." Uncle Lorron spoke once again. He didn't want to explain the situation in the clan since he didn't wish for his daughter to hate the clan she grew up in. Although he didn't think it was the best place in the world, he still adored it since it was his family in the end.

Being called a child made Ennie pout. "I'm an adult now…" She whispered, but Uncle Lorron was able to hear her. He didn't say anything else and just continued to walk with Celius.

"Celius, what are you gonna do for the coming of age ceremony? Although it's a year away, it's still going to happen. Do you have any plans for then?" During the coming of age ceremony, it was tradition to do many battles with others in the same age group. During this time, people would see how strong the young adults had gotten, plus the most talented would be further groomed for the future of the clan. While the weaker ones would just do random work to continue living.

Since it was a mandatory ceremony for everyone, that meant that Celius had to attend. Even though he knew that Celius would leave after turning eighteen, he was still required to attend the ceremony.

"I plan on just getting by without letting anyone notice anything peculiar. I will win a few matches and lose many more. It's the best way to avoid attention." Listening to his plan, uncle Lorron nodded his head.

"That's good. It's the safest way." The more he spent time with Celius, the more he liked him. 'Not only is he responsible and mature, but he is also smart and decisive. Rather than trying to be the best like every other kid, he thinks ahead for the future. Such an impressive boy.'

Ennie silently listened but gave no comments. She also felt the same as her dad as she spent more time with Celius. 'He is much better me in so many areas. No wonder mom and dad keep complimenting him. Sadly, no one else knows how great he is, what a pity.'

Soon, they reached the field. When the father and daughter pair saw the multitude of hills and craters in the field, they were a little tongue-tied. "Celius, what is this?" Ennie asked with curiosity.

"Oh, umm, well, this is the set up for how I will plant my flowers. Since the roots tend to be very long, plus very difficult to remove, I made hills for the plants so it would easier to remove them. As for the craters, they are for plants, but since it will be very hard to remove them, I'm just using them to make the surroundings filled with denser essence. It will be helpful for the flowers' growth and my cultivation." He explained it patiently and pointed at many hills and craters. It was a quick explanation, but the pair were able to understand easily, especially Uncle Lorron.

"Although your yield may not be the best, this is one of the best methods that you can use right now. Impressive." He was genuinely impressed with Celius' way of thinking.

They quickly placed all the rope down onto the ground and Celius quickly thanked the two.

"Celius, since I have work as well, I'm going to head back to the mines for now. Again, if anyone does bother you, come and find me. I will make sure to set them straight. Haha." This time, Uncle Lorron laughed loudly before walking away. Celius looked at his uncle's back in confusion, not knowing why he was suddenly in such a bright mood.

"He is impressed by you." Ennie, who stayed behind, spoke when she saw his confusion. "As I said before, my father loves hard workers. As he spends more time with you, he seems to like you more and more."

Scratching his head in embarrassment, Celius smiled a little. "What about you Ennie, are you going to classes after this? Or are you just going to go home and cultivate?"

Placing her slender finger on her chin, she nodded her head. "I'll stay with you for a little bit. Since father is gone, I want to have a match with you. You know, a spar."

Celius was taken aback by her words. This was such an unexpected request he didn't know what to say.

"Don't worry Celius, it will be quick. Since you say that you're not any weaker, let me test that out for myself. We may be in a similar realm, but unlike you, I practice combat quite a bit with my dad and some other people." Seeing Ennie get excited, Celius smiled bitterly.

"Alright then, let's spar."